Support system for electrolytic cells



Feb. 4, 1969 J. E. CURREY 3,425,927

SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ELECTROLYTIC CELLS Filed March 28, 1966 United States Patent 3,425,927 SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ELECTROLYTIC CELLS John E. Currey, Lewiston, N.Y., assignor to Hooker Chemical Corporation, Niagara Falls, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 537,951 US. Cl. 204-242 Int. Cl. B01k 3/00 This invention relates to a support system for electrolytic cells and more particularly to a three-point support system for adequately supporting the entire bottoms of heavy electrolytic cells, including the corners thereof, utilizing a three-point pedestal support.

Electrolytic cells, such as chlor-alkali diaphragm cells, are commonly utilized as a series or bank of cells placed side by side in rows or other arrangements, whereby in commercial production operations one to 100 or more cells are present in the production area. Each cell is normally positioned on leg means, whereby the cell is properly supported slightly elevated above the floor level. Although the cells could be positioned directly on the floor, such a location is undesirable because it enhances current leakage, particularly when brine, water or other conductive solutions happen to wet the floor. Also, a sufficiently level floor is seldom found which would provide a proper support for the cell and one whereby the cell would be leveled. Therefore, it has been common practice to utilize a three-legged support for such cells due to the ease in leveling, aligning and distributing the weight thereof in a predictable manner between the three legs, irrespective of floor irregularities.

However, with increased size in electrolytic cells such as high current capacity chlor-alkali diaphragm cells, the weight of an operating cell becomes excessive for previous support systems to properly support the cell bottom, particularly the corner extremities. Electrolytic chlor-alkali cells, such as those of above about 50,000 amperes capacity frequently exceed a weight of 20,000 pounds .or more during the cell operation. Although a three-legged support system is still the most desirable, such increased weight capacities soon damage the cell bottom by bending, wrapping, cracking or otherwise degrading it. Such degradation of the cell bottom affects the anode and cathode alignment as well as any corrosive parts which may become subject to the electrolyte as a result of the cell bottom degradation. For these reasons and particularly the close tolerances required to be maintained between the anode and cathode members of the cell, it is highly desirable to provide an improved method of supporting such cells and eliminating the deficiencies of the prior three-legged support system.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a three-legged pedestal support for electrolytic cells which effectively provides a four-point support on the cell bottom. Another object of the present invention is to eliminate distortion, cracking or other degradation of the cell bottom by improving the support system therefor without loss of the highly desired three-point leg arrangement. These and other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description of the invention which follows.

In accordance with the invention, an electrolytic cell support system is provided comprising a cell bottom having positioned thereunder a support member across said cell bottom, said support member being operatively connected with said cell bottom, said support member having leg means positioned near the center and under said support member and said cell bottom having two additional leg means positioned under said cell bottom in a 7 Claims spaced relationship to each other to thereby distribute the weight of said cell bottom between said. leg means.

The present invention provides improved cell bottom support which previously could only be obtained by four or more legs. In retaining a. threeleg system, the distribution of weight supported by the individual legs can be predicted even for irregular floors, whereas if four or more legs are used, the weight distribution tends to be supported along a diagonal between two legs unless additional individual shimming, jacking and the like leveling procedures are followed. Such a procedure is highly undesirable in commercial operation due to the additional time and labor costs involved. When the cell bottom is constructed ofconcrete, proper weight distribution be comes even more important because almost any faulty weight support system will cause cracking of the cell bottom.

The invention will be described more fully by reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of the support system of the present invention, illustrating a preferred positioning of the leg means on the bottom of an electrolytic cell;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevation of a cell bottom and part of a cathode section of an electrolytic cell in operating position, further illustrating the support system of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a partial elevation along plane 2-2 of FIG. 2, further illustrating the support system of the present invention.

Cell bottom 10 is supported by leg means 16, 18 and 20, positioned in a spaced relationship to each other in a manner whereby the weight of the cell and cell bottom is distributed predictably between the leg means. Cell bottom 10 is preferably a preformed structure of desired size and shape which can be of any of numerous materials of construction which are inert or compatible with or can be rendered inert or compatible with the environment within the cell. Suitable materials include concrete, ferrous metals such as steel, ferrous alloys such as stainless steel, nickel steel, and the like, and various ferrous metals coated with inert materials such as after-chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, Teflon, ceramics and other suitable inorganic and organic materials.

Concrete, however, is normally the preferred material of construction, particularly because of its relative ease of fabrication, nonconductivity, inertness and relative low cost. Therefore, the cell bottom referred to herein and in the drawings is of concrete. However, it is to be realized that in referring to the cell bottom as being of a concrete structure, other structures of other materials used in the art are also contemplated. Independent of the particular material used, proper and sufficient support is required for the bottom of the cell so as to retain the cell bottom in its original shape and form when assembled without distorting or cracking the cell bottom. Such distortion or cracking of the cell bottom results in leakage and/ or premature deterioration of the usefulness of the cell bottom.

Leg means 16, 18 and 20 are of metal, wood, stone, concrete or the like material on which cell bottom 10 rests. When the leg means are of metal, it is preferable to insulate the legs means from the cell bottom such as by insulating means 26 which is a nonconductive material such as rubber, plastic, wood, stone, concrete or the like nonconductive materials, thereby eliminating or reducing current leakage from the cell.

Leg means 16 is positioned preferably at or near the focal point of support member 12. Support member 12 is operatively connected or attached to cell 'bottom 10 so as to contact and support the cell bottom primarily near the ends of the support member 12, that is, preferably at a position to either side of the focal point. This is readily accomplished as by connecting support means 12 through spacer means 24 which are positioned near the ends of transverse support member 12. Spacer means 24 preferably contacts the cell bottom at the end portion of transverse support member 12, thereby supporting the cell bottom at two positions or areas on the transverse support member. Alternatively, spacer means 24 can be eliminated by specifically designing cell bottom so that support member 12 contacts cell bottom 10 on both sides of the focal point of support means 12, as for example, by specifically curving the cell bottom. Also, support member 12 can be slightly or specifically curved to provide the desired contact.

The space immediately above the contact point of leg means 16, that is, the focal point on support member 12, preferably does not contact cell bottom 10. By such means, two positions of support are provided by transverse support member thereby adequately supporting the extremities of the cell bottom utilizing a single leg means.

In the most preferred support system, support member 12 is of sufficient size and structural strength so as not to flex excessively under the weight of the cell to thereby contact the cell bottom immediately above leg support 16. Thus, a space is preferably provided of about 0.001 inch to about one inch or more and more preferably about 0.0 1 to about 0.5 inch bet-ween support member 12 and cell bottom 10 over leg means 16. Thus, when spacer means 24 is used, it is of substantially the same thickness as the free space above leg means 16. Spacer means 24 can be metal such as a ferrous metal, plastic, wood, slate and the like materials of sufficient compressive strength to retain the desired spacing.

Support member 12 can 'be any of the numerous strong, relatively high tensile strength metals and alloys, the most frequently used metals being ferrous metals and alloys. Mild steel is usually preferred, but other rigid, high tensile strength metals can also be used. Spacer means 24 can also be of the same metal or of other high compressive strength materials such as concrete, hard rubber, plastic, wood and the like conductive and nonconductive materials. Thus, in a further embodiment of the present invention, spacer means 24 can be molded or cast into the cell bottom when originally formed as a raised section on a concrete cell bottom thereby being an integral part of the cell bottom.

Support member 12 preferably is of a length equal to about 40 percent up to the entire span across the cell bottom. Most preferably, support member 12 is of about 50 percent of the cell bottom width to substantially the width of the cell bottom, the width being that side to side distance running parallel to the position of the support member.

The positioning of leg means 18 and 20 with respect to leg means 16 is preferably in a triangular configuration in a spaced relationship to each other such that on dividing the cell bottom into three equal sections by total weight of the cell, the leg means are preferably positioned so as to distribute the weight of the cell about equally, or in an otherwise desirable proportion, between the three leg means. The exact placement of each leg can readily be ascertained by those skilled in the art. For the particular cell illustrated herein, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical leg means arrangement.

Also traversing the bottom of the cell, preferably parallel to transverse support member 12, is lifting iron 14. Although lifting iron 14 provides some support for the cell, the primary function thereof is to provide a means for lifting the cell into position or otherwise handling the cell bottom.

When the described cell is positioned for use as is illustrated in FIG. 2, the cell is assembled by placing cathode section 22 on cell bottom 10. The assembled cell is then operated in accordance with the particular cell type by passing electrical current through the cell.

The support system of the present invention is particularly suited for use with many electrolytic cells such as cells used for the electrolysis of alkali-metal chlorides in aqueous solutions. Also, the present system can be used with many other electrolytic cells including alkali-metal chlorate cells, alkali metal perchlorate cells, HCl electrolytic cells and the like.

The importance of the present invention is greatly increased as the size and electrical capacity of the particular cell increases. With large chlor-alkali cells such as those of 60,000 amperes and higher current capacities, the need for an improved support system for the cell bottoms, particularly the preferred concrete cell bottoms becomes much' more evident because of the much greater weight being supported. Such larger cell bottoms encounter greater stresses, tend to crack more readily and are more expensive to construct. Because of this, the cells become less expendable which further increases the desirability of maintaining and extending the useful life of the cell bottoms by an improved support system.

While there have been described various embodiments of the present invention, the apparatus described is not intended to be understood as limiting the scope of the invention. It is realized that changes herein are possible and it is further intended that each element recited in any of the following claims is to be understood as referring to all equivalent elements for accomplishing substantially the same results in substantially the same or equivalent manner. It is intended to cover the invention broadly in whatever form its principles may be utilized.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrolytic cell support system comprising a cell bottom having positioned thereunder a support member across the cell bottom, said support member being operatively connected with said cell bottom, said support member having leg means positioned near the center and under said support member wherein a free space is provided between said support member and said cell bottom, said cell bottom having two additional leg means positioned under said cell bottom in a spaced relationship to each other so as to distribute the weight of said cell bottom between said leg means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cell bottom is of concrete.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said free space is about 0.001 to about one inch between said support member and said cell bottom, immediately above the leg means centered under said support means.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support member is operatively connected with said cell bottom through spacer means.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said spacer means are positioned near both ends of the support means.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said support member is spaced about 0.001 to about one inch from said cell bottom by said spacer means.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said spacer means are an integral part of the cell bottom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,866,065 7/1932 Stuart 204258 XR 2,447,547 8/ 1948 Stuart 204-266 2,865,834 12/1958 Ross 204-266 3,030,295 4/1962 La Barge 204-258 XR JOHN H. MACK, Primary Examiner.

D. R. VALENTINE, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 204-252 

1. AN ELECTROLYTIC CELL SUPPORT SYSTEM COMPRISING A CELL BOTTOM HAVING POSITIONED THEREUNDER A SUPPORT MEMBER ACROSS THE CELL BOTTOM, SAID SUPPORT MEMBER BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID CELL BOTTOM, SAID SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING LEG MEANS POSITIONED NEAR THE CENTER AND UNDER SAID SUPPORT MEMBER WHEREIN A FREE SPACE IS PROVIDED BETWEEN SAID SUPPORT MEMBER AND SAID CELL BOTTOM, SAID CELL BOTTOM HAVING TWO ADDITIONAL LEG MEANS POSITIONED UNDER SAID CELL BOTTOM IN A SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER SO AS TO DISTRIBUTE THE WEIGHT OF SAID CELL BOTTOM BETWEEN SAID LEG MEANS. 